Trustees need to explain their votes

Opinion

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2005 10:00 PM

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Email

Print

I have been watching the village board study sessions and meetings on channel 6 from the relative comfort and quiet of my home and I believe I am beginning to understand what the new Oak Park looks like.

Voting remains a simple majority of either yea's or nay's as is customary; this is a time honored tradition. What is missing is sufficient explanations or factual reasoning for such votes. May I suggest that the residents of this village deserve to know the reasoning for a vote and not just a head count? Elected or appointed, these trustees need to be more forthcoming with their rationale.

If at the board meetings there is not going to be any real debate, listening or compromise as promised, just jumping out of chairs, pointing fingers, and screaming for the question to be called, please stop (see Geoff Baker at the July 25 study session). It seems your decisions are made before entering village hall with no effort to build a consensus, hear differing points of view, or even take the advice of your own citizen commissions. Please do us all a favor, stop wasting your and our time and vote from home. Then we can all get to bed early.

If childish behavior is what we can expect from trustees then I would strongly suggest that President Pope begin to institute mandatory time outs to trustees who can't make their point without resorting to the level of a four-year-old.